3.3.5
Analysing the creative economy
3
Environmental analysis
In addition to its socio-economic benefits, the creative economy also has an impact on environmental and biodiversity issues. It is difficult to measure the input prices of creativity and environment, which rarely reflect their full value. As supply chains as investigated for environmental, ethical and sustainability certification, collaborative efforts can be made to collect data to help determine the portion of product sales proceeds that go towards creative individuals and their supporting communities and environments. As noted in the previous chapter, analysis of this data could help to
Box 3.3
ensure fair sharing of benefits. This data could also help to build understanding of the economic contributions of design and cultural influence in creative industries, and help to provide the economic incentive for improved intellectual property regimes. The Creative Economy Report 2008 discussed significant efforts to obtain this kind of information. But trees grow from seeds, and initiatives like SEE Turtle’s conservation pricing deserve attention as efforts are made to collect policy-relevant data in the ecotourism industry. Similar efforts can be envisaged for the creative economy.
Turtles: Conservation tourism and pricing
SEE Turtles is a non-profit ecotourism project currently operating in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Trinidad and Tobago. Going beyond the ecotourism mantra of “leave only footprints”, SEE Turtles suggests that tourists should make a positive impact through conservation tourism — defined as travel that supports efforts to protect endangered species through fees and donations and benefits local communities. It increases awareness and appreciation for environmental and ecological concerns while delivering a much-needed sustainable source of revenue for conservation efforts and a viable economic development alternative for local communities that have few other options for generating income. SEE Turtles is the first to offer “conservation pricing”, where each tour price lists how much of the cost goes to conservation and local communities. Conservation income pays for measures to protect nesting beaches, hire local residents, conduct scientific research, educate tourists and local residents, and recruit volunteers. Communities benefit from direct and indirect spending at locally owned businesses near sea turtle hots pots. This income helps residents value these creatures as an important resource to protect and inspires local support. Source: UNCTAD adaptation from information available at www.seeturtles.org
3.3.6
Copyright and intellectual property
The relatively new concerns with the creative economy have highlighted the fact that material goods may be separated from their symbolic, cultural or artistic values through cultural production processes, notably via digitization. This is not a new problem; it is one that intellectual property rights (IPRs) and copyrights seek to address. What is new is the balance of value divided between the material and the virtual, and the possibility of separating them. Previously, many IPRs were regulated de facto via the regulation of physical goods in which these rights were effectively locked up. Much of the commercialization of the creative industries has involved the innovation of new ways to lock up valuable IPRs in physical or virtual containers (encryption is an example). The recognition that the intellectual property is where a large share of values lies has been reflected in the shift by large corporations to include IPR and brand value on their balance sheets and to present them as a core component of company valuations. The challenge for researchers and policymakers as well as those concerned directly with the creative economy is 82
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threefold: how to measure the value of intellectual property, how to redistribute profits, and how to regulate these activities. As will be further elaborated in chapter 4, the measurement of intellectual property is very difficult using tools that were developed mainly to capture the physical movement of goods. Regulation and redistribution remain interrelated and problematic. Poor or irregular distribution of earnings related to IPR due mainly to institutional inadequacies undermines the legitimacy of a legal regime based on IPR. Moreover, there are some structural challenges to policy and practice associated with uneven development. The creative industries as a whole are characterized by first-mover advantage and a winner-takes-all form. Thus, the developed world is in a strategically very powerful position. Furthermore, the legal resources and techniques elaborated in the developed world do not mesh with more traditional methods of attributing cultural and economic values. This leads to the perfectly legal, but morally anomalous, position of a company from a developed country that can use an unregistered intellectual property in a developing country